I’ve been listening to a lot of records lately where I thought that there is always something missing. Like an album of 12 songs where only about 3 or 4 of them were actually pretty good and the rest mediocre, to put it mildly. Others had great production, arranging, and craftsmanship but the lead singer…
Wes Anderson‘s animated movie “Isle Of Dogs” opens this year’s Berlinale tomorrow. Gina is especially happy about the fact that dogs play the main characters, all of them crossbreeds like herself. I was picking up my press badge earlier today and asked at the counter if I could bring my dog to the press screening…
And here is another wonderful compilation, this time around again from the Outta Sight Soul Essentials team. 20 tracks recorded between 1969 and 2017 and what can you do wrong after starting with “Overdose Of Joy”, the 1977 solo record by the Chi-Lites’ Eugene Record. As usual, some of the songs on offer are already…
“The Subject Tonight Is Love” is a jazz love letter to a hopeful 2018″, says singer Kate McGarry in the press release to her new album, out last Friday. It’s a trio record with her partner, guitarist and bassist Keith Ganz, and pianist, keyboardist and accordionist Gary Versace. The three have been working together on…
The long-awaited Blue Note debut by drummer, composer, vocalist, and producer Chris Dave sounds like a planetary invasion. In the liner notes, he thanks a bunch of people with the introductory line: “this mission from earth to the abyss wouldn’t be complete without giving appreciation”. And so, the album begins with a sort of Parliament/Funkadelic…
Three CDs, 35 tracks – the 2018 edition of the Luxury Soul compilation is among us and it is full of fantastic soul grooves again, like its predecessors reviewed here in 2017, 2016, and 2015. From the very cool cover version of Keni Burke’s classic “Risin’ To The Top” by Tristan featuring Heston right on…
He played drums on Michael Jackson‘s “Billie Jean”, “P.Y.T.” and “Baby Be Mine” and on a thousand more sessions. An album with Leon “Ndugu” Chancler on the drums was always worth checking out. In his early career, he played with the Gerald Wilson Big Band, Herbie Hancock, Willie Bobo, Miles Davis, and Freddie Hubbard. He…
“Don’t Look Any Further” was one of the big numbers in 1984. No, it wasn’t big. It was huge. My original 12″ is pretty worn out. The singer on this particular track was Dennis Edwards, who joined The Temptations in 1968 and sang on classic cuts such as “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”, “Cloud Nine”,…
I know it really feels like a circus, but North Sea Jazz in Rotterdam as one of the biggest jazz festivals is always good to get a proper overview of what’s going on in the jazz world and beyond. Plus, there is always something new and unknown to explore. To be honest, I just can’t…
Contemporary artist Christian Marclay has created the poster for the 52nd edition of the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival. For the first time on a festival poster, the cyanotype process has been used, a printing process which produces a cyan-blue print. Marclay is a Swiss artist, performer, and composer. He works in a multitude of media including…